Pittsburgh Pirates Claim 2; DFA Clement
By Matt Shetler
While the San Francisco Giants are busy taking a commanding 2-0 lead over the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, there hasn’t been much news surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates since their 20th consecutive losing season ended.
But the Pirates were busy today making moves, even if they weren’t very newsworthy moves.
June 11, 2012; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chad Beck throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE
The Bucs claimed a pair of players off waivers on Thursday- catcher Ali Solis from the San Diego Padres and right-hander Chad Beck from the Toronto Blue Jays.
By adding the two players, the Pirates had to create a spot on the 40-man roster. To do so, the club designated both first baseman Jeff Clement and catcher Eric Fryer for assignment.
Solis, 25, spent the year in Double-A San Antonio, posting a slash line of .283/.307/.419 with six homers in 87 games. The catcher also saw his first big league action in September, appearing in five games for the Padres, going hitless in four at bats with a pair of strike outs.
Beck came to the Blue Jays as part of the David Eckstein trade of 2008 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 27-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Blue Jays this year after spending most of the season at Triple-A. Beck posted a 1.31 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 48 innings at Las Vegas in 2012. With the big club, he posted a 6.32 RA in 15.2 innings pitched.
Fryer, 27, owns a .204/.291/.275 slash line across two Triple-A seasons Clement, 29, spent 23 games on the varsity squad and hit .276/.340/.486 in 112 Triple-A games this year. With the big club he had only three hits in 22 at bats, mostly in a pinch hitting role.